Heatwave – Hot Property

Album Revolution #3:

Even after 2 SUCCESSFUL albums, "Heatwave" found themselves at a crossroads...

Why?

Well, co-founding member and ULTIMATE Songwriter, "Rod Temperton" (after penning 80% of "Heatwave's" Classics), got the ATTENTION of Producer EXTRODINARE, (the "Q" Man himself) "Quincy Jones"....With that, "Q" offered "Rod" a GOLDEN OPPERTUNITY to Write Songs for "THE KING OF POP" himself, "Michael Jackson"....So not being A FOOL, "Rod" SERVED up 3 Classics for "Mike's" MASTERPIECE, "Of The Wall", in the form of, "The Title Track", "Burn This Disco Out", and the SUPER DOOPER BOMB CLASSIC, "Rock With You"....

That also found "Rod" making a TOUGH decision...He could NO LONGER be in the Band!!!! I am not really sure how that conversation took place, but there was a COMPROMISE...."Rod" was STILL WILLING to SERVE UP joints for "Heatwave"...The Band AGREED with the terms (they weren't STUPID!!!!!), which brought about "Heatwave's" next album, "Hot Property"....

It wasn't as successful as the last 2 albums, but because it STILL had the FOUNDATION of the "Wilder Brothers" ("Keith" and "Johnnie, Jr"), it is STILL an Ultimate Crown Jewel album....

That Band also got modified more with Bassist, "Mario Mantese" and Guitarist, "Eric Jones" leaving....So they were replaced with "Derek Bramble" on Bass, "William Jones" on Guitar, and "Calvin Duke", who had the HARDEST task of replacing "Rod Temperton" on Keyboards...The Band also changed Producers, and elected to work with another EXTRODINARY Producer in "Phil Ramone"...

Ok, Ok, Ok....We FINALLY start the album with the Swing Time Groovin', "Razzle Dazzle"...It STILL has that Keyboard HEAVY Groove that we as "Heatwave" HEADS were used to...It also continued to have that TERRIFIC "Johnnie" Vocal influence...It may not BUMP as HARD as "Boogie Nights" and "The Groove Line", but it is STILL BUMP WORTHY!!!!!

Still HEAVY on the Keyboards, "Eyeballin'" KEEPS the Groove steady...Having that "Keith" and "Johnnie" Interplay Vocals, STILL makes you want to COVER the Dancefloor!!!!!

"This Night We Fell" COOLS things down a bit...The Smooth Groove has a kind of 'Italian" feel, mixed with a Cuban appeal..."Johnnie", again shows us how IT'S DONE Vocally, while the Guitars are just a WOW!!!!!

"Raise A Blaze" continues to keep the Groove going....It STILL BUMPS, but it not as POTIENT as we are used to with a "Heatwave" joint...It's not terrible, it just FEELS like a STEP DOWN....

"First Day Of Snow" is another nice Slow Jam...Problem is that I had myself comparing this to joints like, "Always And Forever" and "Mind Blowing Decisions"...I know that might not seem FAIR, but that's where my mind is at!!!!!

"One Night Tan" kind of gives me "The Groove Line" Vibe....Problem is that it doesn't quite match it...It also sounds kinda CHEESY at times...The Fiddle Vibe is COOL though....

"Therm Warfare" follows the beginning Vibe of "Put The Word Out" from "Central Heating"...This joint is a little MORE FUNK related, but STILL has that Groove appeal...It is steady, and even though, and not as POTIENT as we are used to, it DOES MAKE US GROOVE!!!!!

"All Talked Out" ALMOST feels like it would have belonged on "Michael Jackson's" "Off The Wall"....But it seems like "Heatwave" said, "NO WAY, THAT'S OURS"!!!! Good thing too, because this DEFINATELY FITS with the "Heatwave Groove" we LOVE to HEAR!!!!

"That's The Way We'll Always Say Goodnight" brings us back to where "Johnnie" continues to give us LESSONS on how to DELIVER a Slow Jam...Still not in the class of what we are used to, but it is a NICE ADDITION to the "Heatwave" Catalog....

The album ends with the only "Johnnie" penned, "Disco"...It is a VERY GOOD "Disco" joint, but again, I can't help but to compare this to those BANGING joints that "Heatwave" BLASTED us with when they began...It is still Groovy though, and at times it has a GREAT Jazzy feel to it!!!!!

Well, you can kind of feel the slide huh? The good thing was that they STILL had the SUPPORT of "Rod Temperton"...In fact, I pointed out in my "Michael Jackson, Of the Wall" review, that "Rod" ALWAYS offered "Heatwave" his Compositions FIRST!!!, WAY BEFORE "Michael"....That STILL BLOWS MY MIND!!!!! Why? Because that meant that "Heatwave" TURNED DOWN, "Off The Wall", "Burn This Disco Out", and "Rock With You"....Can You Guys IMAGINE "Heatwave" doing those FANTASTIC Classics?!?!?!?! Oh, well, I guess it wasn't supposed to be....

This album didn't do as well as the first 2...Then on top of that, BAD NEWS came about for the Band...Former member "Mario Mantese" was stabbed by his Girlfriend, and was Muted and Paralyzed.....Also, "Johnnie" was involved in a SERIOUS Car Accident and was Paralyzed from the Neck down....With him not being able to Perform with the Band any longer, the DYNAMIC of the Band EXTREMELY CHANGED!!!!, even though the Band was able to carry on....

So with that, even though I feel like "Hot Property" has NOTHING on the first 2 albums, it STILL not only has a PLACE in the "Heatwave" Catalog, but in OUR HEARTS as well!!!!!

This was a pretty underwhelming album for me. Heatwave were always a bit hit or miss, when they were good they were hot but when they were bad they were lacklustre. There's nothing really classic on this album to make it essential although "Eyeballin" and "One Night Tan" probably would have got me up on the floor in 1979. Their best moment in my humble opinion is the stunning "Candles" album next year - that was their best album.